Georgetown University event to draw more than 500 students from across the country

Contact: Bridget Bowes, 412-965-4993, bkb8@georgetown.edu

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 /Christian Newswire/ -- The eighth annual Cardinal O'Connor Conference on Life will take place Jan. 20-21, 2007 at Georgetown University. The event gathers more than 500 high school and college students from around the country in advance of the annual March for Life demonstration on the National Mall each January.

Headlining the conference speakers program will be Helen Alvaré, Esq., and Carl A. Anderson. Ms. Alvaré is an associate professor at The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law. She was formerly the director of information and planning for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Pro-Life Activities and chief spokesperson for the bishops' conference on pro-life issues. Mr. Anderson is the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus. During the Reagan Administration, he served as Special Assistant to the President and acting director of the White House Office of Public Liaison. Subsequently, he served as a visiting professor of family law at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome.

Ms. Alvaré will speak at 10:15 a.m. Jan. 21. Mr. Anderson will speak at 2:30 that afternoon. The program will take place in Healy Hall's Gaston auditorium.

The Cardinal O'Connor Conference, named in honor of Cardinal John O'Connor, the late archbishop of New York and outspoken advocate of the unborn, has hosted many prominent speakers in its eight-year history, including Mother Agnes Mary Donovan, Dr. Mildred Jefferson, Congressmen Henry Hyde and Chris Smith, and Senator Rick Santorum. It is cosponsored by Georgetown University Right to Life, Georgetown University Knights of Columbus and University Faculty for Life.

At the conclusion of the conference, the second annual Evangelium Vitae Award will be presented to a college pro-life group for excellence in activities and pregnancy services. The award comes with a $1,000 honorarium to aid the students in their future endeavors. The conference this year is expected to be the largest one in its history.

N.B.: Media interested in attending this event must RSVP to the Georgetown University Office of Communications at (202) 687-4328